The Ultimate Smocked Easter Dress

A little girl is only this sweet and innocent for a short while, so making an Easter dress like this is a treat...and a ton of work. The dress is "Easter Parade" from Australian Smocking & Embroidery No. 74 (published in 2006, and picked up at a shop in Alabama while on a trip in 2009). It is smocked from the shoulder to waist and features gorgeous hand-embroidered flowers on white linen.

The sleeves are made as two overlapping petals, piped with pale blue petite piping (as is the collar and hem). The hand embroidery for the back belt, collar, and sleeves is worked on a piece of fabric prior to cutting. The directions called for backing the collar and belt fabric with interfacing prior to sewing, but I also did the same for the sleeves. I think it made it easier to work with than it might have been otherwise.

The buttons are mother-of-pearl. I almost went cheap and used something else, but when a garment requires this much effort you might as well use the best materials. I actually managed to have exactly the right amount of piping to complete it with two packages and leave the third one I bought for another project.
The embroidery took about 6 hours to complete (just the embroidery - the smocking was about another 6-8 hours total). The dress itself went together pretty easily using French seams on most parts of it. The directions called for completing the final part of the hem by hand, but I was able to fold it up neatly and use a stitch-in-the-ditch technique to secure the hem at the line of piping.

I wish I would have had time to make her a slip. White linen is fairly sheer, but given that she is an (almost) 5 year old girl, it's not too scandalous. I still think I may do it before she wears it again. Plus, I could pass that down to along with the dress. This one is definitely an heirloom.

I would have liked to have not been still smocking this less than 24 hours before Easter Services, but I got it done (and everything else that gummed up my time this week).

For this Easter, her dress, mine, and my mom's (which I made a couple of months ago) were my only Easter projects. I'm glad I bought the boys dress shirts because that would have been too much.

Now, I have a week off work and no cut sewing projects...I think I will have to change the status of that! After all, I just picked up some cute new fabric on Friday...

Happy Easter!

Easter smocking

I got ambitious and decided to make "Easter Parade" from Australian Smocking and Embroidery No. 74 for Gracie's Easter dress this year. Luckily, my spring break started this afternoon, and I did most of what you see here since I got home. I *think* I can get it done. I will get it done, but what was I thinking???

The completed dress should look like this:

I keep telling myself that once I get the smocking done, the actual embroidery will go quickly. Never mind that smocking the bodice is 26 rows pleated.

Since I don't have to get up and go teach hormonal 7th graders tomorrow, I plan to stay up another hour or so until I can get the bottom section (which matches the top part I have done so far) completed.

Project Runway Easter bunny dress

I made this dress last night from Simplicity 1890, a new Project Runway pattern for a simple A-line shift. The pattern calls for a yard and an eighth of 45 inch wide fabric. I squeaked this out with almost nothing to spare from a single yard, not an easy feat considering this is a directional print. Also, the only bias tape I had (for the neckline and armholes) was the perfect matching shade of raspberry pink. I only had 2 inches of the rickrack to spare. A true moment of serendipity in making this work out...but like Tim Gunn always says, "Make it work!"

My "designer" addition was a bit of fairly fat rick rack sewn into the seams at the bodice (front and back). I think the white helps the little bunnies show up better. I also like that the bunny print is subtle, but still a bit whimsical - perfect for my almost 5 year old daughter.

The other thing I noticed about this dress is that it makes her look tall - or maybe it's the little girl high heels in about the smallest size they come in, or the fact that she is a lot leaner and longer-limbed, or maybe it's her recent visit to the salon with Mommy for a trim to her hair. Whatever it is, it all comes together to show that my baby girl is growing up.

Of course, she still has a LOT of growing to do as evidenced by THIS picture:

The bag - which I made so she'd have a place to keep all of her cheerleading stuff is Simplicity 5535, View F. I made View E, the smaller version, as a purse once, so I knew I needed to go bigger for this. However, I just didn't fully picture how big it was until I finished it. She could fit inside...

At least it can double as another piece of luggage when we go to Florida this summer.

I made my own quilted fabric for this using a polka dot pique that was one of my very first fabric purchases before she was born. I lined it with the remains of this cute cheerleader print knit fabric I used for a top for her last fall. There is a layer of fusible fleece in between the two fabrics. If you ever decide to quilt your own fabric like this, using a pattern like this regular dot sure makes it easier to get neat results. There isn't a lot of waste either. I quilted pieces slightly larger than what I need, then cut my pattern from the finished piece. For the zipper, I had a heavy-duty piece non-separating zipper in my stash that was just the right size. I think that will help this be usable for a long time.

On a final April Fool's note - I can't let the day go by without sharing a picture of the cutest April Fool ever - baby Benjamin, who was born April 1, 2005...without waiting for the doctor. After a really slow first stage of labor, things suddenly got very fast and thankfully a great nurse was able to safely get him delivered when he decided he was in a rush to get out.

And here he is in his latest school (class) portrait - April Fool indeed!

What my husband thinks I should sew

Why yes, that is an R2D2 skirt he found from a Facebook post a friend of his made. I guess if one were attending ComicCon or something of that ilk...

He's also sent me this link. He's nuts if he thinks I would wear the teal number let alone spend my time making something like that. Maybe pre-kids, but that's a loooong time ago!

Then, there is the third image he has sent me as a possible project...while I might enjoy the technical challenge, this one isn't happening either.

Maybe I need to convince him he needs to learn to sew if this stuff is his style. ;-) Silly husband!

I do have to say that he does seem to like the stuff I make to wear, but I do have to giggle over these selections.

New patterns (Mc) Callin' my name...

The summer McCall's patterns are online and quite a few have caught my eye!

I like the interesting color-blocking options on M6559, but I see this as working best for me in a shorter version than the maxi-length.

M6563 is a lovely drapey knit top - another cute color-blocking option here, too.

Cute t-shirt options from M6566 - these would be fun to embroider or applique on for our Disney trip.

I like the cute knit top options in M6565 - looks like these would need minimal FBA action.

I could sew for both Benjamin and Gracie off M6540 - love everything on this pattern.

There are some stylish outfits for little girls in M6542.

M6543 would be lovely with a smocked insert piece - has the perfect bodice for it.

I think it is pretty neat that they have a pattern to take advantage of the cute ruffled fabrics available now. M6547 is on my shopping list!

Boy pattern alert! M6548 even ventures into color-blocked shorts - awesome!

I like the structured bags of M6579 - these would look great monogrammed.

Sun hats and cute bags - M6577 is a perfect summer sewing pattern.

All I need now is a 99cent pattern sale! Joann's? Hancock's? Hobby Lobby? Who will it be?

Spreading a little love

Stacie from Stacie Thinks She Can left me a little sunshine, so I will pay it forward.

favorite color:  coral pink, but I love warm brights in general

favorite animal: my 3 cats

favorite number: 13

favorite non-alcoholic drink: Dr. Pepper

facebook or twitter: Facebook

my passion: creating

getting or giving presents: both

favorite pattern: whatever one I am working on right now!

favorite day of the week: Saturday

favorite flower: Stargazer Lilies

And now, my five deserving blogs that I like a lot are:

Quality Time: She has some really interesting projects including  trying to recreate some of the fabulous fashions Amy Adams work in The Muppets.

21 Wale: Joy sews with a style and frequency (and proliferation) to which I can relate. I always enjoy her projects.

My Sewing Space: Renee is another sewing and blogging mom who is sewing for herself and the kids - she makes some lovely things including some nice coordinating outfits - always a fan of that esp. for holiday dress-up.

Kadiddlehopper: Katie turns out some super cute outfits for the kids as well as herself and is always very detailed with the pictures and descriptions of her work. She has a great eye for detail.

Southern Matriarch: She does some of the most beautiful heirloom sewing for her gorgeous little grandbabies.

Honestly, I could waste a ton of time looking at sewing blogs, but then I wouldn't get anything done. These are just a few of the ones I have to look to for inspiration and then tear myself away!

Sewing Modkid Style - got the book!

I am pretty excited - got the only copy of Sewing Modkid Style by Patty Young that my nearest Barnes and Noble had on the shelves today!

Being an advanced sewist, I spent some time looking through the projects before purchasing. There have been a few books I have passed up for being too easy or not unique enough. While I don't expect to master any new-to-me techniques, I do expect that a less experienced seamstress would find plenty to learn.

I like the patterns in the book and the wide size range they come in (2T-10). I am also a big fan of sewing with knits and that is the entire focus of this book.

The projects I see myself most likely making include a really simple, yet cute interlock knit quilt. This might be a good use for my Patsy Aiken knit fabric scraps. All of the bottoms in chapter 3 are nice, simple basics - the A-line gored skirt is particularly cute. The tops are cute as well with the color-blocked Mondrian shirt being my favorite so far. There are also some cute dresses with the 'Bloom" dress being my favorite of these. I could also see myself sewing the swim cover-up with a cute applique.

This one looks like a winner and I will be sure to review and post more once I delve further into the book and make something.

Let the fabric enabling begin

Fabric Mart is 20% off storewide...OMG, I have been a bad girl! Yep, I placed an order, but loooook!

Marc Jacobs red pique plaid...gorgeous!

or how about today's daily pick - another Marc Jacobs plaid:

And then there are these beauties which arrived on my doorstep today:

Mild CHerry 

Bright Fuschia

and this lovely voile from Marc Jacobs:

I have papers I really have to grade tonight, and I want to sew SOOOO badly now! Of course, I also got a package yesterday from The Fabric Fairy which included some pretties for my Disney trip collection:

So who needs more fabric? ;-)

Orange you wishing you got this fabric when it was $1.99 a yard!

With the Pantone color of the year for 2012 being "Tangerine Tango", I have to say I feel very fashion forward in this bright orange sateen Clover pants (Colette patterns). The fabric is a lovely Jones New York sateen with a little stretch to it and the top is Simplicity 2971 in a gorgeous print I found at Sew and Sews Place in Fayetteville, NC - it's a small store, but the selection is lovely.

Of course, the best part of this outfit is that is actually appropriate for tomorrow's forecast with a high near 80! The calendar says winter, but not the NC weather. The air conditioner is on, and the shorts will be coming out.

Animal Kingdom couture - McCall's 6512

I have started planning my Disney trip sewing, and aside from a t-shirt I stitched with Buzz Lightyear on an applique for Benjamin, this is my first real piece of Disney vay-cay couture: the Animal Kingdom blouse.

The pattern is McCall's 6512 which has some mixed reviews on Pattern Review, but I really love it. I think you need the right fabric, though, and this lightweight, almost sheer, yet crisp cotton voile fits the bill.

It was a great inexpensive (sorry - long gone) find from Fabric Mart. I purchased it before this pattern came out, but they turned out to be exactly right together.

The scale of the print is large, so this would not work for my daughter. It also needs something under it due to the sheer factor. Of course the sheer factor also means it is great for summer in the South. Heck, it's still "winter" and I wasn't cold when we went outside to take these pictures.

I am thrilled with how this turned out since it fits with my vision of having great trip outfits that work with being a photo-happy scrapbooking mommy. I love going to Disney and I love having excuses to sew with a theme. I want to do it in a way that is fun, stylish, and appropriate to the individual wearing the clothes. Welcome to the first of many Stylin' Disney posts...I have 147 more days to sew my vision of my family doing Disney!

Spot on!

Look who is ready for gymnastics! This is made from Jalie 3138 and fabric from Patsy Aiken (they used this in the Twirls collection). She decided this is the one to wear to her first class tomorrow.

But we also have another version of Jalie 2792...in bright turquoise and hot pink dancewear lycra from Joann's. These are both simple to make, but with fantastic results.

I also wanted to make her a pair of tumble shorts, so I used Jalie 3022 to make these black stretch velvet ones. The pattern has the shorts and yoga pants in girls size 92cm all the way through a women's 52 (Euro). I love that these Jalie patterns are a buy it once deal - especially if she likes gymnastics because I've got every size she could need...

Projects with a little character

Who likes their new sleep shorts? My big guys do! This is a pattern from the winter 2011 Ottobre magazine. Joann's had flannel half price (and all of the character fabric was 40% off), so we picked up some nice prints including a Star Wars flannel and a Cars print. I stitched up the two pairs the boys are hold in about 45 minutes - total. I have the other 3 cut pairs ready to go once I switch out serger thread.

Additionally, we picked out some Star Wars cotton for some shirts for vacation. Since Star Wars is found at Disney (in the Star Tours ride at the Studios), I will happily play along with their requests. I also have downloaded some really cute designs with Mickey and Minnie as Star Wars characters (for the younger two). Right now I am collecting embroidery images and sewing patterns in a Google Doc as my Disney trip sewing plan. You can peek if you like - right here.

Molly kept wanting to lay on my cut flannel - silly cat! Here she is waiting just to give it that special tabby fur touch.

Of course, before I can finish these (as well as finish the two tops I have cut out for myself, I have an even more pressing project: Gracie's gymnastics stuff - 1st class is Weds. I am making her a bag (which I am stitching out right now. Her name will be appliqued on it along with three little gymnasts - very cute! I also want to sew up the other two leotards I have cut and get her to try on the black stretch velvet shorts I made.

I think I have finally got my teacher work to the point where I can finish up my grading while I stitch out embroidery and actually get some sewing done - yay! (This is especially good after digging into the unfiled carton of Butterick patterns at Joann's yesterday to buy all of the new ones I wanted!)